Night-Time Listenings Wrap-Up: Week of 7/23/12

This week in Night-Time Listening, we chilled. We really chilled. So chilled you’d freeze. We started out with music from Viewpoint. Then we hit up the smooth sounds of OutRun 2006. We flew on our Rocketbelt with Pilotwings. We were at the ocaenside with Chrono Cross. And we camped in an icy mountain in Xenoblade.

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Viewpoint – Un Cailou RicochetComposed by Masaki Kase et al

This week, we chill to ultra chill music. Now if you listen to this song, you’d think this is played in some sort of beach stage. Maybe in a platformer or a driving game. But, this is actually played in a isometric Shmup. Yep, as you blast through hordes of enemies while piloting a ship, you got elevator music caressing your ears. The whole of Viewpoint has music like this. And you know what? I like it. I like it a lot. I can groove to this beat for a good while. Reminds me a lot of french and latin music from back then. So, what kind of visceral, high-octane, bombastic game would you play this kind of music to?

OutRun 2006 – Passing BreezeComposed by Hiroshi Miyauchi

Listen to this. Ah man, red Ferrari, girl in the seat, wind blowin’ in you face. This is the kind of atmosphere Outrun commands. Yeah, you’re racing others, but in the end, you’re just there to drive and enjoy your time. And a genre predominated by dubstep, drum n bass, and rock n roll, it’s nice to get some easy listening music in there every now and then. So now a question: Which state do you think would best fit this kind of music?

Pilotwings – RocketbeltComposed by Soyo Oka

Nintendo’s probably one of the masters of this kinda of jazzy elevator music, Charlie Brown voice notwithstanding. In this case, it helps to have this kind of music as you’re navigating the Rocketbelt in Pilotwings, probably one of the most nerve wracking missions in the game (right next to the Hang-Glider and Copter). And big ups to Nintendo for bringing pianos to the forefront (even those it’s all synthesized). So, who you’re favorite instructor in Pilotwings?

Chrono Cross – Guldove ~ Another WorldComposed by Yasunori Mitsuda

Now here that kinda of music to get mighty lazy to on a Sunday morning. Mitsuda was in his A-game when he composed Chrono Cross. Love it or hate it, Chrono Cross has very sublime music that transcends time. And for the time, it amazing to hear music of this quality. I mean, when sound capabilities for consoles were increased, some music still resorted to using midi files. But here, that is a real guitar playing, as evidenced by the sweeping of the fingers across the strings. Impressive yet is this is a two-instrument song. Of this type of music, what was your favorite in Chrono Cross?

Xenoblade Chronicles – Valak Mountain (Night)Composed by ACE+

I think it’s okay to get this far in talking about Xenoblade music. So here’s the theme to Valak Mountain during the night. Like major setting change Valak goes through from day to night, the music sounds almost like a different arrangement from its day counterpart. This is probably one of the most impressive and moving piano arrangements I’ve heard in videogames. One would think this is Mitsuda’s songs since he was one of the four composers here. This is actually the work of ACE+, the guys that do the rock arrangements for the battles. There are very few songs that put the piano in prominent display outside of cutscenes. It’s a feast for the ears.